


And Skies Unfold

by NeoVenus22



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-27
Updated: 2009-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-05 07:57:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoVenus22/pseuds/NeoVenus22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even in the black, it's hard not to think of home during the holidays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Skies Unfold

Mal breathed in the cold night air planetside, breathing it deep into his lungs as though he could carry it with him forever.

"Been awhile since we been on solid land," Kaylee observed at his side. Mal glanced at her quickly, surprised to see her there. Not that he was complaining about her presence.

"Been awhile since we had a job to take us there," Mal murmured. He loved his girl, his _Serenity_, more than anything, but there were times when he missed being young and foolish, drinking in cool nights on Shadow, living an uncomplicated life and dreaming about the stars. "It's cold out," he said. "You should get back."

"I'm from the backwater planets, too. I can handle the cold," she reminded him. Kaylee grinned up at him with a smile he'd learned to find dangerous. "Found plenty of ways of keeping myself warm," she said, and then snuggled into his side, her head against his chest and her breath slowly making a tiny hot spot on the front of his shirt.

"I bet you did," he said. Kaylee was... weren't a word that could really describe her. She was just very Kaylee, and he'd expect nothing less from her.

"If you wanna go back in..."

"Fine right where I am," he assured her, tightening his arms around her waist and pulling her in closers, warmer.

"Thought so," she said. Mal privately thought that if any of the women back home were like this, he might not have left. Well, that wasn't exactly true, but it was something to think about. Wasn't easy to find a good woman, and Kaylee was one of the best. They stood that way for awhile, the night stretching in front of them while the wind whipped. There were certainly other ways of holding a woman close and gettin' all red in the face, but this wasn't half-bad, either.

"Here," she said, squirming against him finally. "I got you something."

"You got me something?"

"It's Solstice on Shadow today, isn't it?"

"You figure that out yourself?" Mal asked. Alliance had a mind to have everyone on the same calendar, but learned the hard way that the 'verse was bigger than the men in it. Hard to keep a unified calendar when planets had different rotations. Still, livin' in the black, it was hard to figure out what time it was, let alone what day it was, let alone on what planet.

"Well, I had some help," Kaylee said, blushing. River, most likely. He couldn't imagine anyone else bein' bothered with that sort of thing. "Anyway. I thought maybe you missed home a lil' bit, so..." She pulled something out of the pocket of her coveralls and presented it to him. "Hope ya like it."

Mal undid the wrapping, some rough paper he couldn't imagine where she'd gotten it from, and found a small box filled to the brim with fresh-looking strawberries. A tiny ghost of a smile danced across his face. "Hmm. Strawberries."

Kaylee slid her hands across his hips and beamed up at him innocently. "Well, I know they ain't your favorite, but I didn't actually know what yours was..."

"So you just decided to give me yours instead."

"I was thinkin' maybe you could... feed them to me." And now her smile was anything but innocent. "If ya like."

"I couldn't think of a better way to spend Solstice," he assured her, and led her back aboard _Serenity_.


End file.
